Thursday, November 10, 2016

UPDATE - Here is a combined update for the Fall 1959 Caravan. still looking for a few dates to make it complete.

With such overwhelming success, Clark engaged GAC to book a tour headlined by Paul Anka and also starring Lloyd Price, Annette Funicello, Duane Eddy, Jimmy Clanton, Laverne Baker, Coasters, Drifters, Skyliners, Bobby Rydell, and Phil Phillips. Arthur Dover was hired as the MC for shows where Clark did not appear. Irving Feld was the tour's promoter.

No sooner did GAC book a full tour from September 18 through November 8 with the Caravan's debut in Baltimore than problems arose. The Boston Garden, site of the Caravan's second show was being used for a hockey game earlier in the afternoon and GAC decided that they didn't want to go through with the show under those circumstances. Instead, Tim Gale of GAC booked a replacement show in Scranton, PA. Boston was a lucrative stop for any rock 'n roll show in the 1950s so the loss was not looked upon as a good omen.

9/18/1959 Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, MD

Single show at 8 p.m.

9/19/1959 Boston Garden, Boston, MA

This show is cancelled when it is impossible to switch stages after a hockey game.

9/19/1959 Scranton, PA

9/20/1959Forum, Montreal, Canada

9/21/1959Maple Leaf Garden, Toronto, Canada

9/22/1959 War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, NY

9/23/1959 Westchester County Center, White Plains, NY

Despite
the demand for additional tickets, only one show is performed.

9/24/1959 Sports Arena, Hershey, PA

A single show at 8:30 p.m.

9/25/1959 Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, PA

Two
shows at 7:30 and 10:30 p.m.

9/27/59The Mosque, Richmond, VA

Two shows at 7 and 10 p.m.

9/28/1959 Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, NC

9/29/1959 Memorial Auditorium, Greenville, SC

9/30/1959 Coliseum, Charlotte, NC

10/1/1959 Township Auditorium,Columbia, SC

Two shows at 7:30 and 10 p.m.

10/2/1959 Municipal Auditorium, Charleston, WVA

Two performances

10/3/59 State Fairgrounds, Louisville, KY

10/4/1959Nashville, TN

10/5/1959 Gardens, Cincinnati, OH

10/6/1959 Memorial Auditorium, Canton, OH

10/7/1958 Lorain, OH

10/7/1959

Arena, Lorain, OH﻿
﻿﻿

10/8/1959 Veteran’s Building, Columbus, OH

Two shows performed at this venue.

10/9/1959 Sports Arena, Toledo, OH

10/9/1959 Toledo, OH

10/10/1959Civic Auditorium, Grand Rapids, MI

10/11/1959 Elkhart, IL

10/13/1959 Fort Wayne, IN

10/14/1959 Hobart Arena, Troy, OH

10/15/1959 Indiana Theater, Indianapolis, IN

Two shows at 7:15 and 9:45 p.m.

10/16/1959 St. Louis, MO

﻿

﻿﻿
10/16/1959

Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, MO

Two performances at 8 and 11 p.m.

10/17/1959Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, MO

The Caravan gains its first negative notoriety when midway through the show, fights break out amongst the 12,000 plus audience and police moved in to break up the melee. In all, 49 men were arrested ranging in age from 17 to 50 for disturbing the peace and public drunkeness. Although Dick Clark was not at the show, his association with the show drew lots of press and he held a news conference in New York to defend the Caravan. He denied that the performers were responsible for what happened and said, "What happened was certainly unfortunate, but it only reflects the attitude of a few of the thousands of people there."

10/18/1959 Forum, Wichita, KS

10/20/1959Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, TX

10/21/1959Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, TX

10/22/1959Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, TX

﻿

10/27/1959 Omaha, NE

The cast hosted an on-stage birthday celebration for Annette Funicello. Although San Antonio had an additional 25 officers on hand, there was no trouble.

10/24/1959 Municipal Auditorium, Oklahoma City, OK

Two performances

10/25/1959 Auditorium, Wichita, KS

10/27/1959 Auditorium Arena, Omaha, NE

10/28/1959Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN

Police Chief Milton Winslow cancelled this show in the aftermath of the KC arrests. Minneapolis had encountered four violent rock 'n roll shows in the past year. "I am certain violence will occur again," he told the Associated Press.

10/29/59Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium, Des Moines, IA

10/31/59 Arena, Milwaukee, WI

I now have confirmation that the Caravan ended in Milwaukee despite earlier press notices that the tour ran until November 8. If you have any additions or corrections, please let me know.

Friday, July 22, 2016

The final "Where the Action Is" tour is booked for the spring of 1967 with a hot new artist as the headliner, Neil Diamond. Clark also signed P.J. Proby, along with tour regulars, Tommy Roe and Keith. This unit focused primarily . on the south for a very short run. The ability for a package tour such as the Caravans to earn money had run its course.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Promoter
Irving Feld puts another compelling package out in the spring of 1957 headlined by Fats
Domino.This gathering of talent focuses
on black performers in an attempt to avoid the problems encountered in 1956. It didn't always work as the racial tensions remained in the south. In addition, Fats Domino goes AWOL for some shows when it approaches his home in New Orleans and has to be forced back on the tour. Booked for 45-dates, the tour is so
successful that repeat dates are booked in several cities.

Both
houses were sold out and the demand for tickets was so high that another show
is booked in April.

February
24, 1957 Municipal Auditorium, Topeka, KS

February
25, 1957 Civic Auditorium Arena, Omaha, NE

February
27, 1957 Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, UT

March
3, 1957 Coliseum, Spokane, WA

One
show at 7:30 p.m.

March
4, 1957 CPS Fieldhouse, Tacoma, WA

March
5, 1957 Memorial Auditorium, Portland, OR

March
7, 1957 Orpheum, Seattle, WA

March
8, 1957 Portland, OR

March
10, 1957 Auditorium, Oakland, CA

March
11, 1957 Civic Auditorium, San Jose, CA

March
13, 1957 Sports Arena, San Diego, CA

March
14, 1957 Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, CA

March
17, 1957 Sports Center, Tucson, AZ

Fats
Domino is late for his performance and when he does finally show, he has
laryngitis and is unable to sing.Domino's manager takes him to the hospital where doctors order him to
rest.

March
18, 1957 Coliseum, El Paso, TX

March
19, 1957 Armory, Albuquerque, NM

March
22, 1957 Heart of Texas Coliseum, Waco, TX

March
23, 1957 Memorial Coliseum, Corpus Christi, TX

March
24, 1957 Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, TX

March
25, 1957 Gregory Auditorium, Austin, TX

This
appearance was cancelled.

March
25, 1957 Sportatorium, Dallas, TX

March
27, 1957 Little Rock, AR

Domino
leaves the tour and flies home, still sick.He promises to return the next night.

March
28, 1957 Ellis Auditorium, Memphis, TN

Two
shows today - segregated audiences with whites in the afternoon and blacks in
the evening.5,134 shows up at the first
show.Fats Domino fails to show,
claiming to still be sick.With the news
that Fats was not going to show, only 2,500 show up for the evening show.

March
29, 1957 Loyola Field House, Loyola University, Baton Rouge, LA

Fats
Domino shows up tonight, but still complains that he isn't feeling well.Howard Lewis, the promoter of the shows in
the South decides to scare Fats with a gun but it backfires when Domino
disappears again.

March
30, 1957 Mobile, AL

Fats
Domino is again absent and Allan Bloom takes a plane to New Orleans and stakes
out Domino's house.Bloom corrals him
going out and they head back to the airport.Unfortunately, they miss their return flight and instead fly to Atlanta.

March
31, 1957 Atlanta, GA

April
4, 1957 Coliseum, Charlotte, NC

April
5, 1957 Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC

April
7, 1957 The Mosque, Richmond, VA

Two
sell-out shows tonight leads to the promoter rebooking the package for May 5.As they head out to Washington DC, a car carrying
some of Fats Domino's band catches fire and is destroyed.Luckily, injuries were minor.

April
9, 1957 Municipal Auditorium, Charleston, WVA

April
10, 1957 Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, PA

April
11, 1957 Onondaga County War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, NY

April
13, 1957 Boston Garden, Boston, MA

April
14, 1957 Bushnell Auditorium, Hartford, CT

April
15, 1957 Mosque Theatre, Newark, NJ

April
16, 1957 Arena, New Haven, CT

April
18, 1957 Auditorium, Ottawa, Canada

April
19, 1957 Indiana Theatre, Indianapolis, IN

The
package returns for a second date in Indianapolis.

April
20, 1957 Kiel Opera House, St. Louis, MO

A
return to St. Louis as two shows are booked for 8:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.

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About Me

A professional historian who specializes in rock n' roll history, I am usually buried deep in documents or microfilm searching for new information or confirming concert dates. Of course, I have a real job that pays the bills...this is for fun...honest!